Thanks to Well He's Back for this heads up about Powell's Books Review of the Day. 'Sure, you've seen the movies. Then maybe you bought the DVDs, and then several months later the extended version DVDs. You might have even seen the Ralph Bakshi animated version, which amazingly enough follows the book more closely than Peter Jackson's epic. Thanks to media overload, you probably consider yourself well steeped in The Lord of the Rings. But how long has it been since you've read the books?' [More]

Karon reminds me that there are actually two movies currently being filmed about Beowulf. The first is scheduled for release in January 2006. This earlier production is called 'Beowulf and Grendel' and stars Gerard Butler (Phantom of the Opera), Sarah Polley, and Ingvard Sigurdsson. It is directed by Sturla Gunnarsson and written by Andrew Berzins. Most of the filming took place on the south coast of Iceland and the film is currently in post production. [More]

Of interest to UK readers: JRR Tolkien is listed as one of the listed specialist subjects for BBC TV's Mastermind. The show is scheduled for this Thursday June 23 (8.30pm on BBC2 I think - Dem.). For non-UK readers, Mastermind is a UK classic quiz show. Contestants have two minutes on their chosen "specialist" subject in the first round and in the second round two minutes on general knowledge. Thanks to Iain for the heads up. [More]

SALT LAKE CITY: Into the West Lord of the Rings Fellowship of Utah presents a free summer-long lecture series on costuming with Melonie Mortenson of Utah Opera Company and the Shakespearean Festival. Topics will include choosing fabrics, pattern adjustment, and the final creation of a fantasy costume. Lectures will be held at Borders Books and Music in Murray June 23rd, July 28th, and August 17th at 7:00 pm. Click on the link in the title for more information. [More]

From the Provice: "B.C.-raised fantasy illustrator John Howe's career reached a peak when he got the call from director Peter Jackson to help design the look of The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy." Thanks to SusanR for the link. [More]

Earlier today, TheOnering.net had the company of LoTR Hobbit stunt and body double Kiran Shah for a live question and answer session. A big thank you to everyone who came along, and my apologies to those people whose questions we didn't have time to ask. For those of you who missed it, here's the log! [More]

This weekend, Hall of Fire will be hosting a Q&A session with LoTR stunt and body-double Kiran Shah. Join us in #thehalloffire on the TORn IRC server from 5.30pm EDT today, and Kiran will answer your questions about his work on Lord of the Rings, and others films he's been in throughout his career.

More Forbes research (they must be bored little kiddies, there). Peter Jackson lands at Number 30 on their list of the most powerful celebs.Interestingly, the have Pay Rank, Web Rank, Press Rank and TV Rank in addition to the Power Rank. Thanks to Rebecca for the link. [More]

From TheKnight: The Ischia Film Festival is pleased to announce the showing of a John Howe documentary scheduled for Friday June 24th at the Castello Aragonese at 9:00pm. Both Mr Howe and Alan Lee will be attending the screening and there will be a question and answer session with them both after the film. [More]

This story - link courtesy of Adele - talks about the building hype for Beowulf: The Movie. "Ever since The Lord of the Rings graced our screens and won all those Oscars (whether or not they were deserved is open to debate), it was inevitable that Hollywood would grab the cash cow by the udders and milk it for all its worth." [More]

The Fellowship Festival in the UK has just added another two guests to its already substantial list of LoTR attendees -- Stephen Ure (orcs Grishnakh and Gorbag) and Kiran Shah (Hobbit size and stunt double). Stephen and Kiran have also recently finished work on Narnia and are promising to share some exciting on set stories. Thanks to Cat for the link. [More]

FredO wrote to let us know that Billy Boyd is rumored to be a guest vocalist at the July 22 & 23 performances of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra's Lord of the Rings Symphony. There is currently nothing on the PSO website about this.

From Dagorhir.com (via Ossiriand Elf): 'Ragnarok' is Dagorhir's famous annual war. For one week each year, the Realms of Dagorhir throughout the country gather for the final glorious battle: Ragnarok! Leave the real world behind and enter a realm of mighty heroes. A realm of the fantastic where warrior maidens and grizzled veterans fight side by side with Elves and Orcs. Ragnarok is a week-long extravaganza of mass melee and fun. Ragnarok is a living, breathing celebration of Tolkien's works and of the European history that inspired those works. This event draws hundreds of Tolkien and medieval combat enthusiasts from all over the United States. Triumphs and defeats, parades and parties, tournaments and pit fighting, belly dancers, song, friendship, bloody battles and more lead up to the final battle and celebration!" [More]

48 Hours is officially New Zealands largest film competition. Teams have just 48 hours to create an entire short film - this means writing, shooting and editing - or die trying. 48 Hours started in 2003 with 44 teams in Auckland only. The following year it grew to 80 teams in Auckland and 45 teams in Wellington. In 2005, it became a truly national competition with Christchurch and Dunedin joining the chaos. In total 270 teams entered this year! The best short from each city (Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin) has been selected and will compete in a live TV National Final on C4 - Sunday June 12 at 9pm - alongside two wildcard entries selected by none other than Peter Jackson! [More]

It's less than a week until our live Q&A session with LoTR stunt and body-double Kiran Shah. This Saturday, June 18 from 5.30 EDT Kiran will be answering your questions on the TORn IRC server. In Lord Of The Rings, Kiran doubled as - and did stunts for - all four of the main hobbits at one time or another. He worked most closely with Elijah Wood, doubling for Frodo.

London Film and Comic Con, is being held at Earl's Court on 25th and 26th June (this month). Billy Boyd fans, in particular, may be interested, since he's going to be attending. Other celebrity guests include: Val Kilmer, a former Batman to tie in with the release of the new movie; Ron Perlman, star of the recent hit Hellboy; Xander Berkeley and Sarah Clarke, stars of hit drama 24; and Kate Mulgrew, the Captain from Star Trek Voyager. [More]

ScoutB sent in this EW tidbit. "Gollum may direct Johnny Depp in Addict. Speed-addict-turned-writer Stephen Smith says Andy Serkis will direct the film version of his memoir, and that Depp is in talks to star. [More]

If things have seemed a little quiet here over the weekend, it's because our chief news editor Xoanon (Mike) has just gotten married! So, on behalf of all staff here at TORn - Barli's, Greenbooks, HoF, the Boards and the behind-the-scenes admin gods - congratulations and best wishes to both Kathy and Mike!

Ringer spy Celebriel reports that tickets for San Francisco's Trilogy Thursday, to be held August 18, are now on sale on the event's website. The screening benefits Cure Autism Now and will include raffles (including prizes donated by Sideshow/WETA), door prizes and a costume contest. [More]